The design and impact of a patient educational program targeted at setting realistic expectations of the outcomes of total knee arthroplasty surgery (TKA)

Nearly 70,000 total knee replacements are conducted in Australia annually and this rate is forecast to increase dramatically over the next 10 years. It is amongst the most common elective surgical procedures undertaken in people over 60. Despite improvements in surgical techniques, between 10 to 20% of patients report being dissatisfied with surgical outcomes. One factor contributing to patient dissatisfaction is expectations regarding surgical outcomes not being fulfilled and as such there is an unmet clinical need to enable patients to set realistic expectations and achievable goals.

The EXTOKA project, conducted by the University of Newcastle’s Centre for Rehab Innovations in partnership with the Hunter Medical Research Institute and the nib Foundation, aims to address this issue by developing an education program to help TKA patients set realistic expectations for their recovery. The success of the program will be assessed by comparing patients’ expectations before and after the program, and by comparing expectations, expectation fulfillment and satisfaction of those who participate in the program to those who receive standard clinical care alone.

Project findings will inform efforts to improve patient health literacy associated with TKA and support patients to make more informed choices about their recovery journey. By setting realistic expectations of surgical outcomes, there is potential to better target rehabilitation programs to support attaining achievable individual patient goals.

Feel free to get in touch if you want to learn more about the EXTOKA project and how you can get involved